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.TH ACCESS 2 "Jun 16, 2009"
.SH NAME
access, faccessat \- determine accessibility of a file
.SH SYNOPSIS
.LP
.nf
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/fcntl.h>

\fBint\fR \fBaccess\fR(\fBconst char *\fR\fIpath\fR, \fBint\fR \fIamode\fR);
.fi

.LP
.nf
\fBint\fR \fBfaccessat\fR(\fBint\fR \fIfd\fR, \fBconst char *\fR\fIpath\fR, \fBint\fR \fIamode\fR, \fBint\fR \fIflag\fR);
.fi

.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
The \fBaccess()\fR function checks the file named by the pathname pointed to by
the \fIpath\fR argument for accessibility according to the bit pattern
contained in \fIamode\fR, using the real user \fBID\fR in place of the
effective user \fBID\fR and the real group \fBID\fR in place of the effective
group ID. This allows a setuid process to verify that the user running it would
have had permission to access this file.
.sp
.LP
The value of \fIamode\fR is either the bitwise inclusive \fBOR\fR of the access
permissions to be checked (\fBR_OK\fR, \fBW_OK\fR, \fBX_OK\fR) or the existence
test, \fBF_OK\fR.
.sp
.LP
These constants are defined in <\fBunistd.h\fR> as follows:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBR_OK\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 8n
Test for read permission.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBW_OK\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 8n
Test for write permission.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBX_OK\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 8n
Test for execute or search permission.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBF_OK\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 8n
Check existence of file
.RE

.sp
.LP
See \fBIntro\fR(2) for additional information about "File Access Permission".
.sp
.LP
If any access permissions are to be checked, each will be checked individually,
as described in \fBIntro\fR(2). If the process has appropriate privileges, an
implementation may indicate success for \fBX_OK\fR even if none of the execute
file permission bits are set.
.sp
.LP
The \fBfaccessat()\fR function is equivalent to the \fBaccess()\fR function,
except in the case where \fIpath\fR specifies a relative path. In this case the
file whose accessibility is to be determined is located relative to the
directory associated with the file descriptor \fIfd\fR instead of the current
working directory.
.sp
.LP
If \fBfaccessat()\fR is passed in the \fIfd\fR parameter the special value
\fBAT_FDCWD\fR, defined in \fB<fcntl.h>\fR, the current working directory is
used and the behavior is identical to a call to \fBaccess()\fR.
.sp
.LP
Values for \fIflag\fR are constructed by a bitwise-inclusive OR of flags from
the following list, defined in \fB<fcntl.h>\fR:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBAT_EACCESS\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 14n
The checks for accessibility are performed using the effective user and group
IDs instead of the real user and group ID as required in a call to
\fBaccess()\fR.
.RE

.SH RETURN VALUES
.sp
.LP
If the requested access is permitted, \fBaccess()\fR and
\fBfaccessat()\fRsucceed and return \fB0\fR. Otherwise, \fB\(mi1\fR is returned
and \fBerrno\fR is set to indicate the error.
.SH ERRORS
.sp
.LP
The \fBaccess()\fR and \fBfaccessat()\fR functions will fail if:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEACCES\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
Permission bits of the file mode do not permit the requested access, or search
permission is denied on a component of the path prefix.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEFAULT\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
The \fIpath\fR argument points to an illegal address.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEINTR\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
A signal was caught during the \fBaccess()\fR function.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBELOOP\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
Too many symbolic links were encountered in resolving \fIpath\fR, or loop
exists in symbolic links encountered during resolution of the \fIpath\fR
argument.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENAMETOOLONG\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
The length of the \fIpath\fR argument exceeds {\fBPATH_MAX\fR}, or a pathname
component is longer than {\fBNAME_MAX\fR} while \fB_POSIX_NO_TRUNC\fR is in
effect.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENOENT\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
A component of \fIpath\fR does not name an existing file or \fIpath\fR is an
empty string.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENOLINK\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
The \fIpath\fR argument points to a remote machine and the link to that machine
is no longer active.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENOTDIR\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
A component of the path prefix is not a directory.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENXIO\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
The \fIpath\fR argument points to a character or block device special file and
the corresponding device has been retired by the fault management framework.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEROFS\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
Write access is requested for a file on a read-only file system.
.RE

.sp
.LP
The \fBfaccessat()\fR function will fail if:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEBADF\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 9n
The \fIpath\fR argument does not specify an absolute path and the \fIfd\fR
argument is neither \fBAT_FDCWD\fR nor a valid file descriptor open for reading
or searching.
.RE

.sp
.LP
The \fBaccess()\fR and \fBfaccessat()\fR functions may fail if:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEINVAL\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
The value of the \fIamode\fR argument is invalid.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENAMETOOLONG\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
Pathname resolution of a symbolic link produced an intermediate result whose
length exceeds {\fBPATH_MAX\fR}.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBETXTBSY\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 16n
Write access is requested for a pure procedure (shared text) file that is being
executed.
.RE

.sp
.LP
The \fBfaccessat()\fR function may fail if:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEINVAL\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 11n
The value of the \fIflag\fR argument is not valid.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENOTDIR\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 11n
The \fIpath\fR argument is not an absolute path and \fIfd\fR is neither
\fBAT_FDCWD\fR nor a file descriptor associated with a directory.
.RE

.SH USAGE
.sp
.LP
Additional values of \fIamode\fR other than the set defined in the description
might be valid, for example, if a system has extended access controls.
.sp
.LP
The purpose of the \fBfaccessat()\fR function is to enable the checking of the
accessibility of files in directories other than the current working directory
without exposure to race conditions. Any part of the path of a file could be
changed in parallel to a call to \fBaccess()\fR, resulting in unspecified
behavior. By opening a file descriptor for the target directory and using the
\fBfaccessat()\fR function, it can be guaranteed that the file tested for
accessibility is located relative to the desired directory.
.SH ATTRIBUTES
.sp
.LP
See \fBattributes\fR(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:
.sp

.sp
.TS
box;
c | c
l | l .
ATTRIBUTE TYPE	ATTRIBUTE VALUE
_
Interface Stability	Committed
_
MT-Level	Async-Signal-Safe
_
Standard	See below.
.TE

.sp
.LP
For \fBaccess()\fR, see \fBstandards\fR(7).
.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
.LP
.BR Intro (2),
.BR chmod (2),
.BR stat (2),
.BR attributes (7),
.BR standards (7)
